Difference Between Simple And Complex Carbohydrates
One’s health should be the reason of utmost concern to him/her as a person with a healthy and a fit body is able to achieve and do anything in life. In order to attain a healthy body, the intake of proper diet that includes proteins, carbohydrates etc. are a must.The required amount of enery for our body is obtained from the carbohydrates.
It is very important for us to know that what exactly carbohydrates are. They are nothing but a class of nutrients required in the food that are indispensable in our daily diet so that we can perform the daily activities with adequate amount of energy that is needed. The minimum carbohydrates content that needs to be present in our daily diet range from about 50-60%. Now, the carbohydrate content is so high in the daily intake of food because of the fact that they are easily digestible and can be quickly and completely made use of by our bodies. Moreover, they also provide our body with the amount of energy that is required to carry out the daily activities in a proper manner. Any individual involved in work or exercises that are very strenuous and require a lot of energy should have a high carbohydrate diet.
The common name of Carbohydrates is sugar as the most active as well as the most basic type of carbohydrate is Glucose which is sweet and sugary to taste. The glucose is also found in the blood of human body and forms a very important component of the food that is required by the body cells as so assisting them to function normally and properly. However, all carbohydrate substaces are not sweet to taste. Carbohydrates exist in other forms of food too and these include several vegetables, fruits etc.carbohydrates, however, are of two types viz. simple carbohydrates/sugars and complex sugars/carbohydrates.
The carbohydrates having the basic structure of C6H12O6 (6Carbon-12Hydrogen-6Oxygen) are usually called the simple carbohydrates and they consist of one or maybe two sugars, the common ones beingglucose,glactose and fructose (found in fruits). Sugars having two single units include carbohydrates likesucrose (table sugar), honey etc. These are carbohydrates that can easily be digested as well as used up, hence their need in such larger amounts.
Complex carbohydrates are those that are made up of three or more groups of sugar. Usually they may also be called ‘starchy’ carbohydrates. They consist of several minerals as well as vitamins and can be easily digested and stored in the blood stream. Examples of complex carbohydrate rich food include brown rice, vegetables and whole grain.
However, a nutritionist should definitely be consulted so as to ascertain the amount of carbohydrate that is necessary for a healthy body as excessive as well as deficient amount of carbohydrates cause several problems like obesity etc.
Summary:
1. Carbohydrates form most important of the nutrients that we eat thus providing us with the required energy
2. Simple carbohydrates are digestible easily and are quickly and easily used up by the body are easily e.g. Glucose
3. Complex carbohydrates have more amounts of nutrients and take up more time to get digested.